‘Er Indoors isn't convinced, but Hughesy's officially over the possibility that England have, more than likely, retained The Ashes, and that there's every likelihood that we won't be seeing the cricketing universe returned to the correct orientation any time soon.

On revealed form you’d be disinclined to believe we'd be getting the urn back with two wins and a draw in the next three games, and given recent performances you wouldn't be holding your breath in anticipation of a series win in 2013.

No, rail as you might against on-field performances the truly interesting side of things comes when you look at the steps being taken to turn things around. The other matter of interest will come as frustration and disillusion breaks down the what happens in the dressing room stays in the dressing room mentality.

That side of things has already been questioned here and we can expect further material along the same lines as frustration loosens tongues.

That's going to mean a significant departure from the party line, perhaps not quite as significant as the possibility Ponting might elect to bowl first should he win the toss in Perth.

The above was going to be the introduction to another, longer, piece assessing the current situation, but the impending start of the Perth Test means I want to get something finished before the game starts.

This series is actually starting to resemble one of those books you can't put down because you want to see what happens next, though given the changes that have been made to the Australian side already you wouldn't be wanting to make too many more over the rest of the series unless they're injury-related, in which case, of course, the selectors' hands are forced.

Those changes to the side deserve, no, require, a fair amount of closer scrutiny with a rather intense scrute.

At the top of the order Hughes in for the injured Katich was the obvious move. It's to be hoped that he'll be kept in the side for the rest of the series given the likelihood that we're going to be looking at a greentop in Perth, the toss is a 50-50 prospect and he's a 50-50 chance of facing the first ball.

Given the inevitable possibility of a golden duck from the first ball of the innings of course, you can also question why Watson's still up there. Personally I'd much rather see him down the order where he'd have the chance to knock up big hundreds rather than being hung out to dry facing the new ball. We know why he's there, of course, but there's no reason why he has to stay there.

Hopefully, Hughes will be in for the longish term and will be given a fair run to see how he handles things and, equally important, how the opposition handles him. You'd expect that he'll be found lacking in some department over the next few games, since, like any batsman, he'll have his weaknesses. Stick with him and give him a chance to respond to the searching examination he'll be in for.

Substituting Stephen Smith for North is one solution to an issue that could have been tackled differently at the start of the series. As I suggested at the time I would have gone with Smith rather than Doherty in Brisbane on the grounds that the extra batsman would be handy and the spin bowling duties could be shared among Smith, Clarke and Katich.

With Katich out of the picture, of course, that's no longer a possibility, but you'd assume Smith at Six is an indication that he's seen as a batsman who bowls a bit rather than a spinner who can bat. Fine. So, like Hughes, I'd be hoping that he's going to be part of the picture for the rest of the series (at the very least),

Now there have been all sorts of issues raised with regard to Michael Beer, not least the suggestion that we may be going in to Perth with four quicks. Actually, we can already have four quicks with Watson in the side.

Really, given the theory that a left arm tweaker is an important part of the approach to a right hand predominant English batting order you'd hope they're going to stick with it, and that like the other inclusions he'll be given a couple of games to see what he can do.

In any case we'll need someone to bowl into the Fremantle Doctor off a short run, since the over rate is already a problem.

Bringing back Mitchell Johnson was always going to be on the agenda, and the big question is going to be what comes next if he fails to fire on all cylinders.

I've already expressed my own theory that Johnson's problem is that deep down he doesn't believe the once in a generation wrap, and that when he fails to fire there's a subconscious see? I told you so. Peter Roebuck had a slightly different but rather similar take on things here.

If he fails to deliver over the rest of the series it'll be time to reassess the way he's handled in the team setup. Cooley's already come out saying that his action is very complicated, and that there are other factors that are just as significant as the way he uses his front arm, but the issue he identified (the back leg collapsing as he hits his delivery stride) raises its own issues, as does the news that Bollinger hit the wall during the Adelaide Test.

If these two blokes were underdone going into the series, one has to question the approach to player fitness in the coaching and support departments.

In any case, the next few days and the aftermath are going to make for some very interesting times.